Determination of optimal locations for the Variable Message Signs by the genetic algorithm

Abstract

The Variable Message Signs (VMS) are useful way to reduce the socio-economic costs due to the traffic congestions and delays by providing the information on traffic condition to drivers. This paper provided a methodology to determine the locations of VMS's in terms of the minimization of the delay by applying the genetic algorithm. The optimal number of VMS's was also derived by the economic analysis based on the cost and the benefit. The simulation considered the variation of traffic volume, the frequency and duration of the incident, and the traffic conversion in order to reflect the real situation. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.